I saw the new engine today, all I can say is DAMN! :eek:
Based on the M3 I rode in with a similar power to weight ratio, that car will be a monster. The m3 (e36) did 120mph like most cars do 60, and got there just as fast.
The shop and people there are impressive, know their stuff and nice as hell. I will be going back for sure. I would definately trust them with my car, and I do not trust other people working on my stuff. They even took time out to take us for a ride in a modded car and show us around the shop. It felt like you were at a buddies house, who just happens to have every tool you could want for messing with your engine. Mills, welders, lifts, lathes, flowbenches, etc... All very nice people.
That motor is a work of art. Jim Rowe (sp?) (nice as hell guy) has spent so much time and thought on that engine. He probably took an hour explaining to me and my brother all he did to it and why. Which is A TON. They went as far as lightening the valvetrain and tweaking the intake manifold's design. A lot of thought and experimentation went into that motor.
I also am having douts about the balancer exploding myth we have heard about. There is simply nothing there to really explode. After looking at it and talking to Jim, I have serious doubts it is true. Funny thing though, BMW put a dual weight steel flywheel, yet an aluminum balancer... WHY?
We also found out the previous motors problem... Guys, next time you change your oil, drop the lower pan, look up inside, Pull all 6 or so bolts you see and re-install with locktite. What I saw today scared me, as well as everyone there I think.
We immediately found one bolt in the pan (not uncommon), which was being pounded into the pickup. 3 more were missing. The pan gasket was pushing out the front of the engine, not a big deal except that gasket also seals the pickup to the oil pump. When it slipped it allowed the pump to suck air from the pan area. Also his upper pan had bolts barely finger tight, which explains why the bots were pounding into the pickup.
Pull the lower pan, pull each bolt one by one, locktite and re-torque. Then re-torque the entire upper pan.
Hopefully Febi can get pics of what it looks like inside. My pan comes off within a month.
After thinking about it, I can see why these pans come loose. Every m42 pan I have seen has some signs of scraping the ground. This alone would loosen them up over time.
